


Help Me Help You

by Nikki_Sapphire



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mental Institution, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety Disorder, Betrayal, Bipolar Disorder, Everyone else is patients, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Implied Sexual Content, Kiyoko is a psychiatrist, M/M, Mental Disorders, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Might get graphic later on, Minor Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Paranoia, Psychologists & Psychiatrists, Separation Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Strangers to Lovers, Tags May Change, Trigger Warnings, WIP, Yachi is an intern
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-21 02:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14906400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikki_Sapphire/pseuds/Nikki_Sapphire
Summary: 22 year old Yachi Hitoka starts her new internship at the mental hospital near her college that changes her life forever. Yachi slowly starts to learn that something is wrong as more and more 'accidents' occur at the ward and she has to make a tough decision. Who will she have to betray? The dozen of friends she made or the woman she fell in love with? (WIP)(Story better than the summary!)





	1. Yachi and Kiyoko

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy here's a new story. Please keep in mind that I'm not a medical professional or even a science major. Some things maybe be inaccurate and if you want to correct me, go ahead. That being said, I do know a little bit about mental disorders and the effects so hopefully this is accurate enough. This first chapters a bit slow but don't worry it gets better. Oh, and this will be updated once every two weeks as the chapters are longer than what I'm used to writing. Might be updated more frequently but that's a rough guess how often. Hope you like this chapter!

Yachi had always wanted to be psychiatrist ever since she learned what a psychiatrist was. She loved to help people and she figured psychology would be the best fit for her. She had tried interning in the emergency room but she immediately hated the rush and lack of connections between patients. Working with children didn’t quite work with her either and she got more stressed to all the crying and screaming for hours on end. When her friend offered to get her an internship for a psychiatric hospital, she figured she might as well take it. 

 

The twenty-two year old pulled her bag closer to her chest. She always got anxious before meeting her new co-workers. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

  
The door opened silently a few seconds later to a woman who looked a little older than herself. She had dark hair and thin framed glasses that made her look even more put together. She was in professional wear, the suit hugging her tightly and flaring out slightly at the hips.

Yachi tried not to stare any longer at her.

  
“Yachi Hitoka?” The woman asked poliety.

  
She nodded almost too quickly. “Ah, yes. I’m here regarding the internship? I have done all the proper paperwork with Mizuki-san and she requested that I come here,” she explained. Yachi tried not to fiddle with her hands.

  
“Yes, that’s right. Let me log you into our database and we can start by introducing you to a few of our patients.” The dark-haired woman strolled over to her desk and sat down in her leather chair, already clicking away at her computer. “Do you have any preferences on where in the ward you’d like to work? We have openings in girl’s 8-13 division or male’s 15-21?” 

  
“15-21 is better for me personally,” she answered and she clicked away at her computer. Yachi got the chance to glance around the room as the woman- she hadn’t gotten her name yet- entered her in. The room was fairly large for only one office. Her desk was in the middle of the room but if you looked to your side, you could see a beautiful view of Tokyo. They were currently on the 20th floor after all. The building had over 30 floors and every time Yachi walked by a window, she had to glance at the view down beneath her.

  
“Can you work with children if the occasion aroused?” The women interrupted her thoughts.

  
“Yes,” Yachi confirmed. “I prefer to work with older patients, but I can work with younger children if needed.”

  
“Okay, good. Usually nurses are moved around but psychiatrists generally work with the same people to get accurate results. You plan to intern as both a nurse and a psychiatrist, correct?”

  
“Yes. I want to evaluate all my options for the future and hitting two birds with one stone will help,” Yachi said. “Oh, and I um never got your name?”

  
The women looked up from her screen for a moment. “It’s Kiyoko Shimizu.” She resumes typing for a few moment before gesturing the other woman to sit. Yachi obeyed and quietly sat down in one of her comfortable chairs. The sun was already warming up the side of her face near the open window. 

  
“Now. You’ll be working on floor 28 with Ittetsu Takeda today and he’ll show you around. But first, I want you to read over some of these documents and medical reports. I’m going to introduced you to two of our patients today and see what you notice about them. Think of this as a little test to see what you know so far,” Kiyoko explained. She opened a file cabinet and fingered through files before pulling one out. A set of numbers were scribbled on the top if the folder with a name written on the tab.

  
“This will be the first patient you’re meeting. He’s been here for a little over a year,” Kikyo said and handed her the file.

  
“Thank you.” Yachi flipped it open to a general profile. There was a picture of a male with short, curly blonde hair and glasses. He was looking away from the camera, a small scowl on his face. She skimmed through his general information.

  
“This is Tsukishima Kei. He’s nineteen years old and we’ve confirmed him to have Paranoid Personality Disorder and mild to moderate Schizophrenia. He’s a bit of a hard case as he never shows emotions and symptoms as much as the others. He’ll be a good patient otherwise besides occasional fights as his symptoms don’t make him very violent. Don’t be expecting to make too much progress with him today since he is very paranoid and does not trust any of the nurses,” Kikyoko explained.

  
Yachi nodded. “Of course.” She skimmed through a few papers, finding a few past violent reports and symptom analysis. She noticed another small paper stapled onto one of his sheets. “Yamaguchi Tadashi?”

  
“Yes, that’s what I’m hoping for you to analyze today. For the past couple months, the two have gotten much closer and we’ve been debating on whether to keep them together. The potential for complications and worsening each other’s disorders is likely, but so far they’ve only improved each other. Would you mind looking at Yamaguchi’s reports?” Kikoyo asked and handed Yachi another file.

  
“What would you define their relationship as?” She asked and leafed through reports. “Do they consider themselves friends?”

  
“Tsukishima likes to put as ‘he’s the only person I can really stand’ in his therapy sessions. Yamaguchi likes to go on and on about him though. He admitted that they were dating or a ‘screwed up version of that’. Normally we would be concerned by patients sudden closeness, but as you’ll read about Yamaguchi, he has a lot of sleeping complications. He sleeps better with company and Tsukishima is willing to let him. They possibly have sexual relations at well but that can’t be confirmed. No cameras in their rooms of course.”

  
Yachi nodded and hoped her cheeks weren’t as hot as they felt. “Right,” she said and read through more notes. “So he has narcolepsy?”

  
“Correct,” Kiokyo said and tapped her fingers quietly on the desk. “He also has a Pain Disorder as well as a Panic Disorder. He isn’t nearly as bad as other patients symptoms and attitude-wise. He doesn’t get violent or angry often, unless it has to do with separating him from Tsukishima. His dependency towards him is a little concerning, but otherwise his problematic level is low.” Kiyoko tucked a strand on hair behind her ear. “Yamaguchi actually wouldn't be here anymore if it wasn’t for Tsukishima. His behavior tendencies are mild and his disorders are steadily being worked on. We plan to seperate them for a little while and see the effects. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi work good as a pair, but they probably won’t have each other forever. Soon Tsukishima is being moved to the new adults unit and Yamaguchi won’t be able to come with him.”

  
Yachi’s eyes widen. “That sounds… problematic.”

  
Kikoyo hummed in response. “It has to be done. But first, we want to see how much they benefit each other, because if we get valid proof that they improved each other and don’t cause any issues, we might get both of them moved together. The chance of this happen though is low, but we’ll give it a try. I know both of them resort to violence and aggression if they are seperated.”

  
“Do they get seperated often?” Yachi asked.

  
“No, not much anymore. When they first became closer, we immediately thought that it would harm each other. Whenever Tsukishima was put into solitary- usually for getting into fights- Yamaguchi would get very aggressive and his narcolepsy would worsen due to stress and his emotions. Yamaguchi will sometimes go into solitary if gets a bit… much. That’s quite a rare occurrence though.”

  
“I see.”

  
“Well, anyways,” the dark haired woman said, I think we should let you meet them. I’ll start by having Tsukishima come in first and I’ll introduce you before we go through our normal therapy routine. Then I’ll have Yamaguchi come in on his own and do his session too. We usually do group sessions but recently we’ve added sessions with just the two of them to see how they feel about each other. Kinda like couples therapy if you will.” 

  
“Okay,” Yachi said and handed back the two files. The older of the two placed them back correctly in place before pulling out an ipad. Yachi watched as she tapped away on the screen before pulling up a blank document.

  
“I’ll be taking notes on my computer but I want you to jot down anything you notice about them. Be it their attitudes, symptoms or maybe even hypotheses on their behavior.”

  
Yachi nodded vigorously. “Right,” she said with a slightly higher voice. Her nerves were starting to get to her.

  
“Don’t be too nervous, this is just observation time. I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she said encouragingly. Of course she noticed her nerves right away; Kiyoko was a psychiatrist after all. Yachi smiled nervously, hoping she would do as well as she said. Kikyoko rolled her chair over to the phone as Yachi looked down nervously at the ipad. She wrote out ‘Tsukishima Kei’ with the pen she was given, her hand writing a little shaky.

  
“Hi yes, Kiyoko here. Can you please send down Tsukishima Kei with a nurse? Okay, thank you.”

  
It took a few nerve-wracking moments and she jumped at the knocking on the door. Finally, she would meet her first new patient. The door opened and two people were standing in the doorway, one clearly taller than the other. The nurse was average height, her hair red and curly which clashed poorly with her baby blue uniform. The other was quite tall, standing over six feet with his arms crossed. His clothes looked almost like pyjamas as they were navy and fit loosely on him. Tsukishima sat himself down in one of the chairs in front of Yachi and Kiyoko.

  
“That is all,” Kikyoko said to the nurse. As she watched the red-haired nurse go, she couldn’t help but feel a pair of eyes watching her. When she looked over at him, he glanced away.

  
“Welcome back Tsukishima. Today Yachi-san is going to be standing on our session if that’s okay?” She didn’t give him a time to answer. “She’s just going to jot down notes like I usually do. Again, everything is confidencial as long as it won’t harm you or anyone else.”

  
“It’s nice to meet you, Tsukishima-kun. Just pretend I’m not even here,” Yachi said politely. Tsukishima let out a grunt in response.

  
“Now, lets-”

  
“Can you turn the lights down?” Tsukishima interrupted her. Kikyoko nodded and got out of her chair, heading over to the light switch. She turned it and the room got darker to the point the light was barely on. 

  
“Better?”

  
“No,” he said and rubbed his eyes. “Turn it lower.”

  
“That’s as low as it will go.”

  
“No it’s not.”

  
“Go see for yourself Tsukishima.” Yachi tried not to look confused at their interaction. She wrote: _problems with light? Eye problems maybe?_

  
Tsukishima waved at her dismissively and closed his eyes.

  
“You’re going to have to keep your eyes open, you know this from last time.”

  
The blonde rubbed at his eyes again. “Too bright,” he groaned but opened his nonetheless. His eyes were squinted behind his glasses. It surely wasn’t bright in the room at this point in Yachi’s eyes. Her ipad even lit up her face at how dark it was. She didn’t even notice that Kiyoko had pulled the curtains down, only letting a little bit of light peek in from the bottom of the window.

  
“Now, the nurses told me that you got into a fight with Kageyama again. Is this true?” Kikyoko asked.

  
He shrugged.

  
“Over… what was it again?” She asked and swiped through multiple documents on her computer. “Food?”

  
“He took my food, end of story,” Tsukishima grumbled.

  
“Do you know why? Did you read the situation?”

  
“He was in a bad mood,” the blond attempted.

  
“Yes, I think he might have been too. What do think you should have done differently?” She twirled a pen in her hands. Without a word, Tsukishima held out his hand with his palm up. Kikoyko pulled back from her desk and pulled open a drawer. There was an assortment of different things: pens, stress balls, stickers, cubes and other little devices. She rummaged through and picked out a soft-looking piece of white cloth. She placed it in his hand and he immediately started playing with it, running his fingers through it.

  
_Needs extra encouragement. Soft things? Maybe cloth in general. Could be an anxiety reliever._

  
“I should have told the nurse.”

  
“And?” Kikyoko asked, getting herself situated again.

  
“And not punch him in the face.” He rubbed the cloth between his fingers. “He deserved it though.”

  
“Why?”

  
“He took my food. And I don’t like him.”

  
“You know you can’t hurt people if you don’t like them.”

  
He shrugged. I felt his eyes on me.

  
“Who are you again?”

  
“Yachi.”

  
“Why are you here?” He asked, his voice getting higher.

  
“To help you,” Yachi offered, “just like Kiyoko-san.”

  
“I don’t _want_ you here. I don’t know you.”

  
Yachi looked over at Kikyoko helplessly. What was she to say? 

  
“Tsukishima,” she said firmly yet softly. “It’s okay. Meeting new people is apart of life, remember? Yachi-san isn’t going to do anything. She wants to help you like I do. Take a deep breath and we can keep going, okay?”

  
He looked at Yachi again and she gave him a hesitantly reassuring smile. Tsukishima nodded and scratched his hand.

  
“Good. Now how have you been feeling this week?” She asked, eyeing at the blond’s hand. He noticed her staring and promptly stopped, his fingers tangling together instead. Did he have a history of self harm? 

  
“Fine,” he managed to say.

  
“Care to explain?”

  
“No.”

  
“How are you and the other patients?”

  
He shrugged.

  
“Is Yamaguchi treating you well?”

  
The blond paused before nodding. Yachi jotted that down.

  
“Do you feel like you’re helping him?”

  
Another shrug. Kikyoko didn’t say anything for a moment and typed away on her computer. He glanced anxiously at her but looking over at Yachi again. She tried to ignore his stare.

  
“Well, I don’t have anymore questions for you right now. Do you have any questions for me or Yachi-san?"

 

He shook his head.

 

"Okay. Normal group therapy is at 4:30, but I’m going to have a joint session with you and Yamaguchi. I just want to talk with him first.”

  
Tsukishima gave her a look. “What are talking about?”

  
“The usual,” she responded. “Mostly the same questions I asked you. I’ll see you again in a couple minutes, okay?”

  
He grumbled as the psychologist called the nurse back. The same red-haired nurse came back. She had to tug on his wrist in order to get him to move. As he stood, another pair were at the door. Another nurse was standing behind a patient- who Yachi guessed was Yamaguchi. Once the two patients saw each other, their eyes wouldn’t separate. She noticed the blonde brush his hand against his as he left the room. The nurse who was following Yamaguchi disappeared with the other two.

  
“Welcome back Yamaguchi,” Kikyoko greeted and slide back over to her computer. “How are you feeling?”

  
“Tired,” he said lightly and settled himself in one of the seats. “Nothing new.”

  
Immediately, she noticed the attitude difference between the two. Tsukishima’s body language was much more closed off compared to the shorter male. Yamaguchi was actually smiling, albeit weakly. He definitely looked exhausted. She wouldn’t be surprised if he fell asleep in the chair right now.

  
“So I heard you had your medication changed,” Kiyoko started.

  
“Yeah,” he said with a soft voice, “it did.”

  
“Have you been seeing things more recently?” She asked casually. “The nurses reported some things about hearing tapping? What did it sound like?”

  
“Like this,” Yamaguchi said and tapped rhythmically on the desk. “But sometimes it got much quicker or really slow like ticking.”

  
“How long have you been hearing the tapping?”

  
“A couple days,” he answered and played with the strands of his hair. “It’s not that constant though. Maybe a couple times a day?”

  
Kikyoko hummed and Yachi quickly wrote that down. “Are you aware that they are from your medication being changed? You don’t usually get hallucinations.”

  
He shook his head. “I know but… it always seems so real. I can’t really tell the difference sometimes.”

  
“It’s good that you are at least aware that they may not be real. That’s progress.” She typed away on her computer. “How about your sleep schedule? Are you getting back on track? Six hours at least?”

  
“W-well, kinda,” he stuttered. “The medicine isn’t working too well yet.”

  
“It’s been a little while since they started being regulated again. How long has it been?” She asked and found the answer herself on her computer. “It should be normal by now. It’s been over three weeks. Do you feel that the medication should be upped?”

  
The male quickly shook his head. “No, I want to give it more time. Last time they upped it… I got even more anxious. I rather be sleepy,” he confessed.

  
“Well, we’ll give you another week but if they don’t improve, we can negotiate with the doctor. Now how many hours of sleep did you get last night?”

  
He thought for a moment. “Five? Five and half maybe?”

  
“Did you fall asleep today?”

  
He nodded. He almost looked guilty. Yachi fought the urge to sooth him and tell him it wasn’t his fault.

  
“At 11 this morning Tsukki told me I was out for a couple minutes. At 3 I was asleep for an hour.”

  
“Not too bad,” she said and by now her typing had become background noise to Yachi. She pulled herself away from her desk and placed her arms on the table. “Is there anything you want to tell me about Tsukishima? We last meet three days ago but has anything happened since then?” She asked gently.

  
Yamaguchi paused before shaking his head. “He fought with Kageyama yesterday but that was about it.”

  
“How did he react afterwards? Upset? Angery?”

  
“Annoyed I guess. Solitary always makes him upset though, even if he won’t admit it. I try to be extra nice to him if he’s been alone for a while.” Yamaguchi yawned.

  
“How did it make you feel to see him upset?”

  
“Well, it made me upset. Maybe a little guilty that I couldn’t stop him from hurting someone.”

  
“Now Yamaguchi, we went over that you shouldn’t feel guilty for Tsukishima’s actions. He needs help like you and everyone else here. I really appreciate you trying to be kind to him. It really does help, even if it doesn’t show.”

  
“I know, I know,” Yamaguchi suddenly slurred. Yachi looked up from her ipad in alarm as he suddenly tilted his head to the side, fast asleep. 

  
“Well,” Kikyoko chuckled, “I guess that ends his session. I’m not sure if he’ll wake up anytime soon so I’m going to cancel the joint session.” She rolled over to the phone, calling for someone to get Yamaguchi and bring both him and Tsukishima back. She glanced at the male wearily as he laid there dead asleep. She had never seen anyone with narcolepsy in person before. She watched as Yamaguchi was carried out of the room as if he was a child by two nurses.

  
“So what do you think of your first two patients? We’ll go over your notes and questions and you’ll be free to go for today,” Kiyoko explained.

  
Yachi gaped at her and glanced down at her scribbled down notes. “Interesting, I suppose. They have an intriguing connection between the two of them.”

  
“Indeed. I think they're very interesting. Now let’s go over those notes of yours.”

 

 

 

 

 **Kikoyko's General Report (updated: 11/16)**  
Name: Tsukishima Kei  
Date of Birth: September 27th  
Age: 19 years old  
Sex: Male  
Gender Identity: Male  
General Description: short, curly blonde hair, tall and slender stature, brown-yellow eyes, glasses or contacts  
Allergies: None  
Background: Lived with parents, mother had extreme bipolar disorder/ father was never home, possibly gambling and/or drinking (not confirmed). Later lived with older brother who has been diagnosed with PPD himself, as of 1/19 has been released from the adult ward with medication and careful instructions. No other incidents have been reported.

  
Diagnosis 1 (as of 11/16): Paranoid Personality disorder  
Symptoms (current): Easily aggravated episcally towards other patients, dismissive and/or hesitant towards staff, tense/ unable to relax around staff and other patients, has trouble cooperating with staff and stays away from other patients  
Diagnosis 2 (as of 11/16): Schizophrenia (5 on the BPRS)  
Symptoms (current): Mild symptoms of depression, mild symptoms of bizarre behavior (see below), hallucinations especially involving light and sound, moderate to extreme emotional withdrawal, as well as moderate self neglect (see below), occasionally drops into anorexia/ periods of not eating without a known reason.  
Diagnosis 3 (as of 11/16)(unconfirmed): Schizotypal personality disorder (STPD)  
Symptoms (recent): Same symptoms above including: odd speech and/or rambling, inappropriate emotional responses, and lack of close friends. Further research and counselling is needed before being confirmed. Has little to no symptoms of social anxiety or anxiety in general besides paranoia.

  
Recent Incidents:   
9/12- Argued with another patient and was stopped before violence occured. The other patient (#32917) supposedly started the fight and was threatening him (reported by other patient bystanders). Can’t be confirmed.  
9/30- Physical fight with another patient (#32819). Patients broke each others wrists, conflicting sources on who started it. Can’t be confirmed but most likely the other patient (who has a record of fighting with other patients).  
10/1- Tsukishima confirmed to ‘have an episode’ and screamed at other patients. The patient himself admitted it, saying he was provoked first. Was given sedatives for the rest of the day.  
10/5- Another episode. Doctors are upping his medication to try and stop agitation to prevent future incidents.  
10/7- Patient has been complaining about the side effect from the medication. Is being ignored for the time being, but was also given over the counter medication for migraines.  
10/20- Has been getting closer to (#42095) and further monitoring is required for side effects of new relationship.  
10/24- Relationship with (#42095) increased both their moods and decreasing mild symptoms. Greatly helping with (#42095) sleeping problems. Will let things continue unless any problems occur.  
11/2- Both patients requested to room together. Access was granted and (#17291) switched rooms (#42095). Suspected sexual relations but nothing confirmed.  
11/16- No new incidents or changes

  
Additional Notes:  
Very picky on lighting and has halicutions based on lights; telling someone to turn the light off even though it’s already off, saying the sun is too bright even on darker days, and complaining about his phone being too bright. Has a particle fixture to soft surfaces and carries around a scrap of cloth to play with. Picky on food and likes to eat the same foods over and over again- especially fruits.

 

**Kikoyko's General Report: (as of 11/23)**

Name: Yamaguchi Tadashi  
Date of Birth: November 10th   
Age: 18 years old  
Sex: Male  
Gender Identity: Male  
General Description: average height, shoulder length hair usually in a ponytail, has freckles  
Allergies: Peanuts  
Background: Adopted parents dropped him off at the hospital, complaining that they couldn’t deal with his ‘habits’ anymore. Symptoms and attitude has little to violent tendencies and lived here for having no other place to go. Has had several anxiety all his life and progressively gotten worse and he grew up. Planning to remove him from the ward if he causes trouble with (#26782) instead of benefit him. Release date will be decided in the near future. Will still require weekly therapy session at the ward and bi-weekly sessions with doctors.

  
Diagnosis 1 (as of 11/3): Narcolepsy  
Symptoms (as of 11/3): Fall asleep during the day during inappropriate times such as eating and talking. Usual extreme sleepiness symptoms: slurred speech, weak muscles, unable to focus and minor hallucinations. Is unable to sleep at night and sleep cycle is erratic at best.  
Diagnosis 2 (as of 11/3): Pain disorder  
Symptoms (as of 11/3): The most concerning diagnosis. Headaches and/or migraines happen frequently enough for constant medication. Stomach pain is another common symptom along with occasional back/shoulder pain. The pain is ranked as severe, caused by the stress level from in the ward. A negative effect of keeping him in the ward.  
Diagnosis 3 (as of 11/3): Panic Disorder  
Symptoms (as of 11/3): Has had frequent panic attacks- reports of up to five a week. Now has been limited to around three a week since he moved locations. Panic attacks have usual symptoms: sweating, trouble breathing, pounding heart, and dizziness. Typically vary in duration and intensity, sometimes happen multiple times in one day. Occasionally has to be restricted, especially if patient (#49272) isn’t around but isn’t very frequent.

  
Recent Incidents:  
9/15, 9/18, 9/19 - a set of panic attacks, sedatives needed on 9/19  
9/29- Upped pain medications because of frequent migraine complaints  
10/6- Several panic attack, required restraining and 24 hour solitary  
10/20- Has been getting closer to other patients, especially (#49272), further research and monitoring is needed before drawing conclusions  
10/20-10/31 - No panic attacks reported, mood elevating  
11/2- Switched rooms. Further details on page 34.  
11/9- Sleep medication needed to be disrupted, hallications became more common. Extra therapy day was added. Trying to regulate sleep medication again.

  
Additional notes: Gets along with other patients and can calm them down on occasions where staff couldn’t. Hasn’t been able to help (#89071) with anxiety and nerve problems, does better with anger managing others. Still requesting a therapy cat, might be granted if he’s on his best behavior. As of 11/23, bouts of anger have become more common. Hoping to break the habit soon.

 


	2. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi

Tsukishima waited impatiently for Yamaguchi to get up. He tapped his fingers against the bed railing; he was used to Yamaguchi sleeping at weird times, but he wanted his attention now. He had been asleep for nearly three hours at this point and Tsukishima was starting to hear a little voice in his head. He was so tempted to wake him up- it wouldn’t be the first time. Thankfully, he didn’t have to as Yamaguchi let out a little groan and turned towards him.

  
“Up already?” Yamaguchi mumbled, voice still heavy with sleep.

  
“It’s four in the evening,” Tsukishima said flatly but grabbed the sleepy boys hand. Yamaguchi didn’t try to pull back, which was a good sign, and he watches as the blonde rubbed his thumb against his hand. “Sleep well?” He asked, softer this time.

  
Yamaguchi shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t remember falling asleep. Where was I this time?”

  
“Common room. You were reading a book and nobody noticed so I dragged you back here.” Tsukishima moved his hand up, settling to massage his wrist instead. 

   
Yamaguchi smiled softly. “Couldn’t even put me in my own bed?”

  
“Yeah right,” Tsukishima snorted. “This is more of your bed than it is mine. When was the last time you used your own?” He asked, sparing a glance down at the bottom bunk.

  
“A while,” he admitted and pulled himself closer to the blonde. “I’m glad, Tsukki.” 

  
Tsukishima hummed in response, pulling the smaller of the two even closer and threading anxious fingers through his hair.

  
“Did you eat yet?” Yamaguchi asked softly, basking in the quietness of the room.

  
“No, but we can go and eat later. Kageyama and Hinata are always there at four.”

  
“Okay,” Yamaguchi said and looked up, locking eyes with the blonde. “Hearing things?”

  
Tsukishima blinked. “Is it that obvious?”

  
“You keep tugging at your ears. Plus your eyes are really glassy,” Yamaguchi explained and reach for Tsukishima’s hand and placing it back in his hair. By now, his evergreen hair was nearly a rat’s nest with pieces of his hair sticking up everywhere.

  
“Shut up,” Tsukishima suddenly growled and Yamaguchi didn’t even tense as his face was smooshed into his boyfriend’s chest. “Not you, ‘Yama. You can keep talking. Please, keep talking,” the blonde nearly pleaded.

  
“It’s okay,” Yamaguchi tried to soothe him. “Do you want to hear about my dream? I dreamed you took me on a date. Like, a real actual date. One where you took me to this nice little coffee shop like the one you can see outside the window with all the people walking into. It was just like that, but a little smaller and cozier. You let me get a hot chocolate, even though you wanted me to try their coffee because you said it was really good. And it was like real hot chocolate, li-like real hot chocolate without any powdery stuff.” Yamaguchi suddenly gasped and clung onto Tsukishima’s arm.

  
“What is it?”

  
“H-hah, sorry,” he choked. Tsukishima finally snapped out of it, all his attention focused on Yamaguchi. “Migraine or whatever,” he groaned and rubbed at his forehead. The pain was sudden but not surprising at this point. Yamaguchi was used to sudden pain, but he never got used it.

  
“Do you want me to get the nurse?” Tsukishima asked, moving his hand down to neck and rubbing softly.

  
“Mmm, no,” Yamaguchi said and breathed out deeply. “She’ll make me get out of bed and I don’t want to. It’s too cold in doctor’s room,” he mumbled.

  
“Are you feeling sleepy again already?” Tsukishima asked in concern. It seemed too soon for him to fall back asleep after he’s only been awake for a couple minutes.

  
“Y-yeah but it’s just the pain makes me sleepy. Sorry if I fall asleep again Tsukki,” he said with a small smile. “Did talking help you?”   
“Yeah,” he said and Yamaguchi shifted, allowing himself to get more comfortable. “You didn’t eat yet, right? Let me get you something to eat. There’s snacks out in the common room.”

  
“No,” Yamaguchi whined immediately. “Don’t go.”

  
“It’ll only be a moment-”

  
“No! I don’t want you to leave!” Yamaguchi cried and clung onto Tsukishima’s arm. He kissed the crying boy’s head and sighed.

  
“Alright, alright. I’m not going anywhere. Calm down.”

  
Yamaguchi didn’t say anything but he still had his head stuffed into Tsukishima’s chest. His breathing, which had been more erratic, was starting to calm down again. He started humming softly until his breathing evened out and he sighed, tugging at the bottom hem of Tsukishima’s shirt.

  
“Okay?” The smaller asked and the blonde nodded, already knowing what he was talking about.

  
“Okay,” Tsukishima echoed as hands trailed up under his shirt. Of the two, Yamaguchi always said that Tsukishima was the touchy one. He always wanted to feel any inch of skin he could with Yamaguchi- his arms, his hands, his hair. Still, Tsukishima thinks he’s just as touchy and clingy, except his touches were often more heated and intense. Tsukki prefers softer, soothing touches but he let Yamaguchi have his way with him.

  
He felt his hands trace patterns on his stomach before tracing barely-there ribs. He had to dig his in in order to feel them but Tsukishima didn’t mind. The slight pain would usually dissolve the voices humming in the back of his head.

  
When he had told Sugawara that Yamaguchi was the more sexual one between the two, he didn’t believe Tsukki in the slightest. It took him a while to learn that he was actually telling the true as a nicely purple hickey showed when his shirt shifted. When Suga casually asked at breakfast once if Tsukishima ever gave him a hickey, Yamaguchi laughed and told him he was too soft for that. In retaliation, he made a nice mark right in the crevice between his neck and shoulder. He joked that he might start looking like Suga soon. The silver-haired male walked around proudly with hickeys and marks all over him. The nurses started to ignore his lack of shame.

  
“Voices again?” Yamaguchi murmured, kissing his neck.

  
“No, just thinking.”

  
“Of?” The other male asked, his voice still soft but now growing slightly huskier.

  
“Thinking if I should leave a nice mark right here,” he played along and rubbed his thumb against Yamaguchi’s shoulder.

  
He grinned- no, smirked at him. “I dare you,” he said and nipped softly at his neck. Tsukishima glanced to the side, trying to read the time.

  
“It’s going to five soon.”

  
“What time is it now?” Yamaguchi asked and placed a kiss right on the corner of his mouth.

  
“Four thirty. I don’t think we’ll have time.”

  
Yamaguchi grinned even harder. “Oh Tsukki, there’s always time.”

  
Tsukishima sent him a glare. “If we get caught I’m so going to kill you.” The threat lacked any actually bite and Yamaguchi just giggled, dipping his fingers down into his pants.

 

 

 

 

  
Yachi followed the nurse in front of her nervously. It was the same red-headed nurse from yesterday and Yachi had quickly learned not to ask questions. She got a snippy response every time.

  
“Everything is located on this floor that you’ll need to know,” she spoke and stopped in the middle of a room. “This is the common room and besides their rooms, patients are usually here.”

  
The statement seemed correct. There were several people in the open room. A silver haired male and another male were sitting on the floor, both watching something on a tablet. Another few were laying on the couch- one had a book and the other two were sharing a blanket, talking quietly about something. There were a few others roaming about but overall the room was quiet. There was soft music playing in the background and the nurse muttered something about it being to relax the patients or something.

  
“Sometimes you want to sit in here and watch but nothing usually happens besides some fighting once in a while.”

  
“Alright,” Yachi said and followed her to the next room. It quickly reminded her of her school cafeteria except much smaller. There was a lady behind the counter playing on her phone with a small arrangements of food options in front of her. There was leftover sandwiches and some chip bags, but otherwise there wasn’t much variety.

  
“Eating time is scheduled to be an hour and all patients have to eat in here unless they have some sort of eating disorder. In that case, they either eat with their doctor or whatever or we have to give them food in their rooms. Yeah, that always sucks cause they don’t like to eat it and we don’t want to make them. Still, we have to sit in their and urge them to eat even if it takens hours,” he lady sighed.   
Yachi was quickly learning how much she hated her job.

  
“Hello, new nurse-san!” The lady behind the food counter said a little louder than necessary. “Glad to be working with ya!” She smiled and Yachi couldn’t help but look at her crooked, missing teeth. She looked like a pirate, Yachi thought amusingly.

  
“Anyways,” the redhead said, quickly dismissing the other lady. “If you go back to the common room, there’s a hallways by the bookshelves and that leads to the patients rooms. You can go have a look if you want but I’m on break now, so good luck with that.”   
Yachi watched with wide eyes as the nurse took a seat in the back corner cafeteria, completely dismissing her.

  
“But wait!” She cried. “What am I supposed to do?” Surely they didn’t want her to sit around for the next three hours?

  
“You want to work? Fine, then. I got some things for you to do.” She pulled a set of keys and placed them down on the table in front of her along with a notepad. “Yamaguchi Tadashi needs his medicine in the next hour. The medicine is stored in the room next to Kikyoko-san’s and you’ll have to use your card to get it. Use the key for the medicine cabinet and make sure to lock it when your done. Oh, and make sure you knock and wait a couple minutes if he’s in his room.”

  
“Okay,” Yachi said nervously. She hoped she would remember everything. She’s never even been in this section of the hospital before and now this woman wants her to do this all by herself! She quickly escaped the cafeteria, ignoring her grumbling stomach. She could eat once that crazy redheaded lady left.

  
She rushed down the hallway, trying to avoid the other nurses. There actually weren’t that many even though there’s over fifteen patients. She has only seen three other nurses but most of them had kept to themselves. When she peeked into Kiokyo’s office, another patient was inside, sniffing and blubbering about something. She didn’t get the chance to see anymore though as she reached the medicine room.

  
She slip her card into the slot and it let out a quiet bleep, a little green light flashing. Yachi quickly pulled her card out and walked inside. She was immediately bombarded with dozen of shelves with glass doors on them. The blonde tried to read the note in order to find Yamaguchi’s medication, but the handwriting was hard to read. She hoped she wouldn’t grab the wrong one.

  
She wondered passes multiple shelves until she reached the- hopefully correct- section. Yachi pushed in the keys and it made a beeping sound similar to the door. She slowly opened the door and it felt almost like a refrigerator. There was little air vents behind the dividers that blew out mildly cold air. She vaguely remembered her college professor saying how medicine needed to be kept cool in order to preserve it longer.

  
Yachi, feeling cold already, quickly located the section and pulled out two small, clear white bottles. She pushed it into her pocket and shut the door.

  
“Getting medications already?” A familiar voice asked.

  
Yachi looked up in surprised at Kiyoko, who was standing outside her office door. She quietly shut the door behind her.

  
“Yes, one of the nurses sent me.”

  
“Which one?” She asked, walking over to her side.

  
“The red-haired one?” Yachi said more like a question. “I don’t know her name.”

  
“Ah, I think you mean Aki-san. It seems like she really doesn’t care about her work, but don’t worry she does. She just doesn’t like to admit it,” Kikyoko said with a bit of humor in her voice.

  
Yachi glanced at her. “Right.” She didn’t want to question her boss any further, but she really did think that the nurse didn’t care for the patients- or other staff- at all. “Are you seeing any patients right now?”

  
“Yes, actually. I’m gonna grab Sugawara for his usual session. I’ll have you meet him another time, he’s be a bit out of it lately. I want you to meet him on one of his better days,” Kiyoko-san explained. “Whose medicine are you getting?”

  
“Yamaguchi’s. Do you know where he is?” Yachi asked as they reached the end of the hallway and into the common room. The usual patients were milling about, but she recognize a few new patients this time.

  
“Daichi?” Kikyoko asked two boys sitting together on the couch. Both heads popped up- one brown haired and one silver. “Have you seen Yamaguchi lately?”

  
Both shook their heads. “Tsukishima brought him to their room a couple hours ago. I haven't seen them since,” the brown haired male said.

  
“Okay, thank you. And Sugawara?” Kiyoko asked.

  
“Yeah?” Just then did Yachi notice a various amount of marks on his shoulder, neck and arms. She almost asked what had happened but blushed, realizing they looked like hickeys. Did the other boy give them to him? Was that even allowed?

  
“Your session is next. Care to come with me?”

  
The silver-haired male huffed and glanced at his couch mate. “Fine. I’ll see you later Daichi.”

  
Yachi watched as Kiyoko and Sugawara left. Daichi picked up his book again and gave her a slight nod; she couldn’t tell if he was dismissing her or trying to be polite. Instead of thinking about it too much, she wandered into the next hallway. It was slim and actually a little dark and she wondered if that was for Tsukishima. There was a paper holder outside each door with names of patients. She quickly noticed that most patients slept in pairs or groups of threes. A few were by themselves, and she couldn’t help but think if they were the more dangerous ones.

  
Finally, nearing the end of the hallway and the patient’s bathrooms, she found Yamaguchi’s room. Both his and Tsukishima’s names were printed on the sheet along with some very basic information underneath. She knocked at the door and waited a couple moments, wondering if she should let herself in or not.

  
She didn’t have to make that decision as Tsukishima opened the door. His hair was messy, but otherwise he looked the same as he did yesterday.

  
“Yeah? Oh you,” he deadpanned. “What do you want?”

  
Yachi fumbled. “I um, I got Yamaguchi’s medicine. The other nurses wanted him to take it now,” she tried to explain. The other blonde nodded and stepped away from the door. As she did, she got to notice how small the room was. There was a bunk bed up against the side of the wall and a dresser across from it. There was a little side table next to their beds with scattered trinkets on top. Other than that, there was a standing lamp which barely gave the room any light. Were all the rooms this dark?

  
“Who’s here?” A soft voice mumbled. She looked up to see an obviously sleepy Yamaguchi on the top bunk. “Oh, hello Yachi-san.”

  
“Hello,” she said poliety. “Is now a good time to take your medicine?”

  
“Mhh, sure.” Yamaguchi shifted around on the top bunk before starting to climb down. Tsukishima eyed him like hawk as he finally reached the floor. The shorter male sat down on the bottom bed and Tsukishima joined him. They sat so close their knees were bumping into each other.

  
She pulled the bottle of pills out of her pocket and carefully read the instructions. She had been instructed to get two bottles- one for his pain and one for his narcolepsy. “Two of each… does that sound normal for you?” She asked and opened the first bottle, letting two pills drop into her palm.

  
“Yeah,” he mumbled sleepily. “Can you grab me that water?” He asked and pointed to a nearly empty bottle of water on the side table. She quickly grabbed it and handed it to him along with the two pills. As he swallowed them, she read over the bottles more. He had to take four pills daily? It seemed a bit excessive, but she didn’t comment on it.

  
“There. I’ll probably be giving you guys your medications for now, but don’t mind me. I probably won’t be here for long,” she murmured as she makes her way over to the door.

  
“Why are you trying to be so nice?” Tsukishima accused, his fingers entangled with Yamaguchi's.

  
“Nice? I’m just doing my job. If I’m going to be around you guys for a while, might as well be nice, right? Makes both of our lives easier.”

  
“Well I’m glad your being nice,” Yamaguchi said with a yawn. “It does make our lives easier.”

  
“I still don’t trust you, you know. Don’t forget that,” the blonde said with a near snarl.

  
“I know, and that’s okay. You don’t have to trust me,” she said pushed the bottles into her pocket. “Well if don’t see either of you, have a good rest of your evening,” Yachi said and closed the door behind her. 

Not for the first time, she wondered what the other patients would be like. 


End file.
